Sunday, November 02, 2008

Hamas threatens to boycott Fatah talks


Islamist group demands Palestinian Authority suspend arrest operations against its cells in West Bank, or else its representatives won't attend reconciliation negotiations in Cairo
Ali Waked

Even before it is officially launched, the bid to reconcile the Palestinian factions appears doomed. On Saturday Hamas threatened to boycott the upcoming negotiations with Fatah, scheduled to commence next Sunday in Cairo. A senior Hamas official from the West Bank, Raafat Nasif, who is slated to represent the movement in the Egyptian-mediated talks, said the Islamist group would consider holding its delegation back if the wave of arrest operations against its people by Palestinian Authority troops continued in the West Bank. This would also be the case unless those who were already taken into custody are not released.


Nasif sharply denounced what he called "the escalation and oppression of the Palestinian security forces against Hamas in the West Bank," and said the PA was waging a campaign aimed at eliminating Hamas' presence in the region.



A top Hamas official in the West Bank called on the remaining Palestinian organizations and Egypt to pressure the PA into calling off its advancing troops, which he said jeopardize the dialogue.



"Since the preparations began for the talks in Cairo, we have witnessed a dangerous escalation and a campaign of oppression designed to eliminate Hamas in the West Bank. This has only increased as the negotiations draw closer, which proves there are those in the PA that want to see the reconciliation and unity efforts fail. This proved that Fatah and the institute of the presidency are not serious about the talks and are not interested in national agreement."


Hamas: Egypt must intervene

Meanwhile a Hamas spokesman called on Egypt to pressure Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to call off the arrests and free the detainees. "There is an unprecedented assault by the PA's security forces in the West Bank against (Hamas') operatives and leaders," said Fawzi Barhoum. "This assault only increased after the (Hamas) government in the Gaza Strip released all the political prisoners belonging to Fatah, in a goodwill gesture ahead of the negotiations."



Barhoum slammed the arrests as "being carried out in collaboration with the Zionist occupier."



Hundreds of Hamas men are currently imprisoned in PA facilities, according to statistics published by Palestinian human rights groups. In recent days the focus of the Palestinian Authority's forces has indeed been the Hebron area, where Israel has allowed Abbas to deploy more than 500 police officers and troops

which have undergone training in Jordan by the US army.



Since their deployment last week, the PA has already arrested dozens of Hamas operatives in the West Bank city.



The Islamic Jihad also called on the PA to release its prisoners from West Bank jails. "At this time we call on the Palestinian Authority to respond to the release of Fatah men by the government in Gaza with a similar move in the West Bank – we are surprised that in response to our call the PA has arrested our Mujahedeen. These arrests are aiding the enemy."


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